An author read poems about mold on dirty dishes, baseball coaches and teaching a fourth-grade poetry class at an event on Tuesday. 

Award-winning writer Gary Dop read from his poetry collection “Father, Child, Water” alongside several other of his poems.

In addition to his reading, Dop discussed his experience as an English professor and writer with dyslexia and ADHD, which he said wasn’t diagnosed until his 40s. 

“I didn’t know what it was,” Dop said.. “I just knew I had to constantly hide the fact that reading was a struggle for me. And I didn’t understand it … I thought I was maybe a little lazy. ”

Studio arts student El Bilderback said he attended the event for class, but Dop read a poem that “stuck out” to Bilderback. 

“I found it kind of relatable, and so I was really glad that he read those,” Bilderback said. “I thought he was very personable and funny and he did an amazing reading [both] the serious work and the funny work.”

Film student William Finn said he enjoys attending writing events like this one. 

“I love to … hear writers and learn about their experiences and why they do what they do,” Finn said. 

Finn said he’s not usually a fan of poetry but he enjoyed Dop’s approach to the writing form. 

“It’s [usually] hard to like, get into it and parse through some of the more heavy language and themes but I really like his approach of just, like, storytelling and, like, taking a story and then making it into a poem,” Finn said. “I liked it a lot.” 

Creative writing professor Garrett Brown who organizes the Writers Reading events, said he brings  three writers to visit campus every semester to discuss their writing and any questions students may have. 

Brown said he selects writers who are local and will engage well with students.

 “[I’ve] gone through and just vetted a bunch of local writers and kind of picked ones that I thought would be good for our students, you know, that are successful, but also … good communicators,” Brown said. “It’s not just like, ‘Oh, here’s a writer, we’re all gonna, like, listen to them read and then, like, clap and bow, you know,’ it is supposed to be an educational experience.”